Placing Orders in MetaTrader 4

Placing orders in MetaTrader 4 is a very simple process. There are two types of trades that can be performed in most MetaTrader 4 platforms: Immediate Execution and Pending Orders. The immediate order is a simple market order, while the pending orders are both stop and limit orders that are trades that should be fired off once certain conditions are met.

There are several ways to enable the order window in MetaTrader 4. You can press F9, right-click on the pair you wish to trade in the market watch window, double-click on the forex pair in the market window you wish to trade, or right-click on the chart of the forex pair you want to trade and clicking on “trading”.

Once you have the order window up, you can press the buy or sell button to place a market order. There is also a volume menu, which is used to determine the size of the order, and the boxes for take profit and stop loss orders. Once you press the buy or sell button, you have just placed a market order. The next thing you will see is the confirmation window showing you that the order has been filled, and under what circumstances. Once you enter the position, it will be listed in the terminal window.

You can also place a pending order, which simply states that you want to get into the market under specific conditions. There are entry limit orders, both buy and sell. You will use this order to get into a position under better than current conditions. For example, a buy limit is placed when you want to buy a pair at prices lower than currently being offered. The stop order can be both buy and sell, and is used when a price which is yet to be hit should trigger your order. In other words, if you place a buy stop, you want to get filled if a price that is higher than currently offered. This might be used in a breakout for example. The pending order can also have a time limit, as shown in the order box. If the order doesn’t trigger before that time – it will be cancelled.

Stop loss and take profit orders will have limits as to how close they can be placed normally. The difference will vary from broker to broker. You also can use such handy features as trailing stops, as many traders find them very useful.